Squadron Passes SCRIE/DRIE Rent Affordability Expansion Through Committee

NEW YORK – Today, State Senator Daniel Squadron successfully passed his bill to expand access to the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) and the Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE) rent affordability programs (S.6244) through the Senate Aging Committee, after utilizing a Motion for Committee Consideration. Under Squadron’s bill, SCRIE/DRIE eligibility could be extended to residents in buildings where landlords have agreed to base future rent increases on rules established by the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB), which ties the rent of these units to rent regulated rent increases. 

“SCRIE and DRIE can be the difference between housing and homelessness for fixed-income New Yorkers,” said State Senator Daniel Squadron. “This bill is a common-sense way to expand benefits to people who need this affordability assistance as much as current recipients. Today’s Aging Committee passage is an important step, and I urge the Finance Committee to quickly bring this bill up for a vote. I thank Assemblymember Kavanagh, City Councilmember Margaret Chin, and colleagues for their leadership on this issue." 

SCRIE currently requires recipients to be 62 or older, have a household income under $50,000, spend over 1/3 of their monthly income on rent, and reside in a rent regulated unit or Mitchell-Lama apartment. Eligibility does not include residents living in buildings with landlord RGB agreements for SCRIE or DRIE. A Motion for Committee Consideration requires committee chairs to place the relevant bill on a committee agenda and schedule a vote within 45 days. Squadron filed the S.6244 Motion on February 26th.

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